The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 15, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

This illustrated collection of five dozen short verses--on family, pets, school, disasters, advice--reveals a ham-fisted approach to rhyming, with odes to belching, the fried monkey meat, flatulence, barfing, and dogs peeing in the garden. Sophomoric humor has its place; the problem here is that the verse doesn't scan, and is utterly forgettable, e.g., ``My baby sister's/really swell./I love her smile,/but not her smell,'' or, worse, wooden: ``The winner for attendance/is Mary Anne McKay./She came to school on every day/of Christmas holiday.'' In the introduction, Lansky writes, ``In schools, I recite my own poems, as well as those of Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky . . . If you expose children to the most entertaining children's poems ever written, they just might like poetry.'' Exactly how he fits into the picture isn't quite clear. (index) (Poetry. 9-11)

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